Talk:Origins and architecture of the Taj Mahal

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http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Origins_and_architecture_of_the_Taj_Mahal&action=history --Russ McGinn 05:28, 10 September 2007 (CDT)

To do list

1. The big POV deficiency is the lack of significant researched and balanced appraisal of 'the contribution of Hindu building traditions and architecture to the building' - It's quite difficult to do this one. Hindu builders were used for their labour in the construction, but what impact did Hindu 'ideas' or 'designers' have on the building? Mughal society encouraged a meritocracy where Hindus could hold offices of state, but the system was slanted towards those of Persian or Timurid origin, and the Hindu influence might have been airbrushed out of a lot of the contemporary accounts. Also, there isn't a prescriptive islamic architectural traditions, it always borrowed and adapted local forms, so the floral designs can have a meaning to both islamic and hindu societies simultaneously. The big worry with this one is the issue has been politicised - read P.N. Oak and The true story of the Taj Mahal. India, now increasingly nationalistic in certain quarters, appears to be attempting to either deny or downplay its Islamic history in the current political climate where India and Pakistan are pointing nuclear weapons at each other. The Taj as a 'symbol of India' has got caught up in all this - not every source is as ridiculous as Knapp and Oak, but the potential for this bias is there in a lot of material. I was going to use Asher for some of this as she has a good section in the start of her book about the 'origins of mughal architecture' as a whole and deals with it quite well.
2. Free diagram needed for 17th Century Agra - List each garden in the key and provide redlinks to the most important - such as the Agra Fort, Ram Bagh and Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb
3. Actually the influence of Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb is rather undersold in the article at the moment - need further reading to establish clearer links.
4. Photos needed of each section of the Taj complex mentioned in the architecture section.
5. The Taj Complex map needs revising to include some of this measurement analysis. It also needs a scale and some letters plonking on so we can refer to its parts in the caption
6. There's a few ommissions from the description of the complex - the external tombs and mosque outside of the walls.
7. The description of the mausoleum itself isn't finished and needs to include the dome interior and exterior, chattris, a plan of one of the levels, a description of the calligraphic and carving programme and it hierarchical nature.
8. The Jilauakhana and plinth need a description and explanation.
9. Once all that's done, the thing needs significant pruning down to size, keeping just the important and interesting facts. My prose is a bit wordy so that always needs addressing.
10. Then the lead needs rewriting entirely from scratch based on the important thrust of the article. --Russ McGinn 07:02, 24 September 2007 (CDT)